Toad.. I'm going to get a little bit nasty here even though I probably shouldn't.
What Grun seems to be trying to say is that he really enjoys 'dishing it out'... but it makes him cry when has to 'take it', so he really wishes people would stop making fun of him.
And Grun.. How about Marshal Tito's Yugoslavia? I did a very brief search on the Web... pulled this up.
"For the republics of Yugoslavia (1944-1992), Marshall Tito cultivated socialist fraternity and a unity that took precedence over ethnic differences. Tito was a considered a benevolent Father about whom rousing songs were composed and whose portrait still occupies a prominent place some homes and public buildings. Children honored him en masse every year on his birthday, May 25. A child was proud to make a small speech, hand him flowers, or present the ceremonial stafeta at the end of a relay race. This semblance of unity was maintained by sending dissidents to work camps or demoting them from positions of power.
Tito's death from cancer in May 1980 was a profound shock and provoked mourning throughout Yugoslavia. Many feared that without his presence unity could not be maintained. His coffin was placed on a train, which wound through the country, headed for an official state funeral in Belgrade. Huge crowds lined the tracks, carrying placards and singing songs that vowed to follow his path. Tito's burial was accompanied by a gun salute and the wailing of air-raid sirens.
Yugoslav brotherhood and unity dissolved quickly following Tito's death, as his "sons" vied for the position of the Father. An escalation of gruesome and violent acts by citizens against one another led to demands for the autonomy of republics and to a fracturing along ethnic lines. Bosnia became the central site of a multicultural dissolution, engineered by Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. One of the most poignant symbols of this painful disintegration was the Croatian army's bombing of Bosnia's Mostar bridge, which brutally separated the city's Muslim and Croat populations. "
Granted, there is a mention of 'work camps'... but I suppose an examination of the United States penal system compared to some other countries would take up a whole other thread. However, it would seem that in Yugoslavia's case Marshal Tito's brand of 'communism' held the country together in spite of racial tensions that existed before the country was even formed, and exploded into open war during the 1990's.
Although I'm no politican or economist.. I'll tell you what MY 'utopia" would be. You would be absolutely allowed to own your own business, corporation, island.. whatever. However, in return ALL of your employees WOULD earn a living wage (I trust I don't have to explain what this is) and your business would be taxed in proportion to its earnings.
The 'living wage' thing would take some doing, since obviously teenagers that work don't HAVE to live on their own, so they wouldn't necesarily need a living wage. In an ideal world, teenagers wouldn't HAVE to work, they'd be free to concentrate on their schoolwork. You would be absolutely free to pay yourself a salary of 800 billion a year. However, you'd be paying some very heavy taxes on it.
Politicans would run on their own merits. There would be no 'fund-raising', and each candidate would get equal time and coverage on TV and in the newspapers.. not matter how whoopee stupid their platform is. Politicans would not make outrageous salaries, nor could t hey accept any gifts at all (even a whoopee puppy dog). They'd be SERVING the state... not serving themselves.
There would be free healthcare for everybody. There would be NO unemployment or food stamps, however, there WOULD be a guaranteed diddlying job for anyone who wanted one. And it'd be a job paying a living wage, since every job WOULD pay a living wage. If someone is physically or mentally unable to work (like, honestly diddlyed up, not just a slacker) then there would be a fund to provide them with money so they could live.
Although I haven't served in the military, I'd be in favor of mandatory military service after high school. Furthermore, that would be how you earn your right to vote. If you are a concientious objector, you can serve in a medical detachment.
I've gotta go eat dinner... chew on this for a while and I'll be back later.
